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Bill Maher donates $1M to Obama super PAC

Frederick M. Brown

Comedian and HBO host Bill Maher on Thursday night announced he's donating $1 million to Priorities USA Action, the super PAC supporting President Obama.

Maher brought out a large check during a live performance of his show "StupidCrazyPolitics" in San Jose, California. The comedian tweeted that the donation was a surprise to Yahoo, which broadcast the standup performance.

There are no limits to the dollar amount donors can give to super PACs, and the rise of the third party groups has created a who are investing significant sums of money to influence the 2012 election. Maher isn't the only high-profile figure supporting the pro-Obama group -- Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, the fifth biggest super PAC player, gave $2 million to Priorities USA Action last May, and Steven Spielberg has also donated $100,00 to the group.

Still, Maher's donation is big news for Priorities USA Action -- the group raised only about $59,000 in January. Meanwhile, the pro-Mitt Romney super PAC Restore Our Future and the pro-Newt Gingrich group Winning Our Future raised a combined $17 million last month.

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